What’s Cool on Kickstarter

There’s many interesting items to be found on Kickstarter, but these are the coolest ones this week.

Numenera 2: Discovery and Destiny
I already wrote a little bit about Numenera 2, but I can’t help but urge everyone to look at this again. Numenera 2 is an expansion of my favorite RPG. It is funding the release of two new books: Discovery, which will be replacing the core book, and Destiny, which expands the scope of what you can do in Numenera. The main change is updating character creation, so that the Nano, Jack, and Glaive get more abilities that are unique to them. They are also introducing three new character types, which sharp-eyed people have noticed might be called Arkus, Delve, and Wright. Destiny is focused on letting your players build a better world, through crafting or establishing and protecting communities. The books are completely backwards and forwards compatible, though they will be retiring Character Options and Character Options 2. But if you want to keep the original core book, you’ll still be able to use any new book released in the future. They’ve an announced an absolutely gorgeous deluxe set, as well as hit five stretch goals! If you join the campaign you have the opportunity to help shape an entire supplement that will also be published by interacting with other backers and building a story together. If you’ve ever been interested in looking at Numenera, this is a great spot to jump in!

“Numenera Discovery will be a book that covers familiar territory; it is basically a revision of the original Numenera corebook. Next summer, we will allow the original corebook to go out of print, and Numenera Discovery will take its place. In Numenera Discovery, you’ll get some revisions to make things clearer and more fun, and to increase the options available to players. Nanos, Jacks, and Glaives will get an overhaul. Many foci and some of the descriptors might see some reworking. You’ll have more options, clearer rules, and perhaps a bit of expansion to the regions of the Steadfast and the Beyond that are covered in the existing corebook.

As excited as we are about Numenera Discovery, we may be even more excited about Numenera Destiny. This title will enable characters to truly become a part of the setting—to help shape the future of the Ninth World. The people of the Ninth World are locked in a medieval-like state, a world of struggle and danger and often suffering in the shadow of the prior worlds’ wonders. Numenera Destiny allows you to build adventures and campaigns in which players don’t just explore the wonders of the past—they utilize them to help lift the Ninth World out of darkness.

You can make the world a better place. Help a community defend itself from abhumans or the iron wind. Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect. Manage an entire community and help it prosper and grow—or simply create a cool base or vehicle for your adventuring group. Numenera Destiny will allow you to take what you discover and make your mark on history as someone who elevated the Ninth World into the future.

Adventuring—exploring the weird and wondrous remnants of the prior worlds—remains, of course, at the core of Numenera play. Numenera Destiny will give you new things to do with your discoveries, along with entirely new and epic ways to structure your campaigns. You’ll discover materials, power sources, and treasures that you can utilize in an entirely new, robust crafting and building system. And perhaps best of all, Numenera Destiny will offer three new character types and a number of new descriptors and foci geared toward this innovative style of play.”

Littlest Lovecraft: The Dreamlands
I love seeing Lovecraft’s works adapted into children’s books. Maybe it’s the wrongness about the idea that appeals to me. Whatever it is, Littlest Lovecraft is releasing their last set of books, a collection of adapted Dreamlands stories. These books retell Lovecraft’s stories in rhyme and are adorably illustrated. You can also pick up the previous books! I can’t wait to read The Cats of Ulthar.

“It’s Tro and Eyo again (for the last time!) with the fifth and final book in our Littlest Lovecraft series – a three short story set to round us out called The Dreamlands Collection. Shockingly, it will contain stories from the Dreamlands! It’ll have our versions of “The Silver Key”, “The White Ship”, and Eyo’s favorite “The Cats of Ulthar”. As always, it will be full color and fully illustrated, written in rhyming verse, and be 64 pages long just like all the previous books (so they match!).”

Prehistoric and Dinosaur and Skeletons
If you love dinosaurs, now’s your chance to show that off with some stunning models. This project is replicating dino skulls, skeletons, and claws for display in your choice of metal. There are also keychains and some really awesome pendants. If anyone wants to get me a Dilophosaurus necklace, for instance, that’s an option! They also have created replicates of museum displays of several of the dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus vs Triceratops model that is really amazing.

“I incorporate professional grade 3D scans of real fossils and reconstruct that fossil into a digital model. That model goes through an intense amount of research and refinement as I use historical reference, paleontologist journals and even paleontologist feedback to ensure the models accuracy. Once it’s given a thumbs up, the 3D model is printed in jeweler’s wax where all the hires detail comes to life in a physical model. That model is then taken to one of my family owned fine jewelry casting houses where the print is burned out and a metal part is born.

With the help of my early backers I have come a long way from first offering just 4 models. Currently I now have 29 prehistoric specimens with even more on the way. In addition to skulls I am now creating full dynamically posed skeletons and also offer a variety of claws toes and even horns as wearable art. I am also proud to announce that I have released my first ring design and many more will be available by the end of his campaign.”

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Megan loves RPGs, cephalopods, robots, dice, and Kickstarter campaigns related to the above. She is a co-founder of The Redacted Files and runs our Numenera, Pathfinder, and Horror on the Orient Express campaigns, as well as the Trail of Cthulhu one-shots.